January can be a hard month. It’s cold (well maybe not last year) and bleak, and that glow of good cheer from the holiday season is slowly subsiding. School starts again, we all go back to work and our bloated credit card bills arrive.

With entertaining a big part of the December schedule, many of us might exceed our regular wine budget, splurging on prestigious bottles as gifts or more upmarket wines for parties. January is a good time to dial back the budget. And luckily there are many great bottles for $20 or less.

Here are a few that caught my eye. They deliver character and quality at good prices. A few of them might be a little off the beaten path for many wine lovers. All the more reason, I say, to give them a try.

May you have a fruitful year filled with wine adventures.

Bodegas Atalaya

2015

Laya

Almansa, Spain

Bodegas Atalaya is one of several successful wineries overseen by Spain’s powerful Gil Family Estates. Atalaya is located in southeastern Spain’s Almansa region, between the hot and dry central plain and the cooler, wetter coastline.

This wine is a blend of Garnacha Tintorera (75 per cent) and Monastrell. Not to be confused with Garnacha (Grenache in France), Garnacha Tintorera is a completely different grape sometimes called Alicante Bouschet.

The cool thing about Garnacha Tintorera is that it has a red flesh. Most red wine grapes have white flesh tucked underneath the dark red skins that give the wines their colour. The red flesh here makes a difference in the glass as it shows an intense dark purple/red hue.

Drink: Now, or in the next couple of years. Try it with braised lamb shanks, mushroom pizza or oxtail stew. Cork; 14.5 per cent alc./vol.

Bodegas Atalaya-

Domaines Paul Jaboulet Aine

2013

Parallele 45 Rouge

Cotes du Rhone, France

Cotes du Rhone, a broad region in southern France’s Rhone Valley, is a great place to find value. Offering both red and white blends, the warm, dry valley consistently delivers delicious wines.

While Domaines Paul Jaboulet has been based in the northern Rhone Valley for more than 180 years, the winery has several holdings in the south including Cotes-du-Rhone. Parallele 45, its entry-level wine, offers a great introduction to the regional style. The name comes from the 45th Parallel, which runs two kilometres from the winery’s cellars.

Crios

2015

Malbec

Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley, Argentina

Crios is one of the labels produced by Susana Balbo Wines. Balbo has been a trailblazer in Argentina for decades. Raised in Mendoza, the heart of wine country, she initially thought she would go away to study nuclear physics. Her parents resisted, suggesting instead she stay in Mendoza. So she chose the family path of viticulture, with the goal of becoming a winemaker. In 1981 she broke new ground when she became the first woman in Argentina to earn an oenology degree.

She started working for the Michel Torino winery, focusing on the aromatic white grape Torrontes. In 1999 she put her own name on a winery. Since then Balbo also became the first Argentine woman to work as a foreign consultant, helping wineries in Spain, Chile, Italy, Brazil, Australia and California. Her success led to her being named one of the world’s most influential women winemakers in 2012, while in 2015 The Drinks Business crowned her as its Woman of the Year.

Crios, her largest production brand, is her entry-level wine. This Malbec, which also includes five per cent Bonarda, is smooth, approachable and fruit forward. Look for flavours of black cherry, plum, mocha, earth and vanilla.

Gnarly Head

2015

Viognier

California

Part of the Delicato Family Wines group, Gnarly Head is based in Lodi, Calif., about a two-hour drive east of San Francisco. Lodi is known for its Zinfandels, with some vines more than 80 years old, and Gnarly Head made its name based on Zins.

But this Viognier is worth checking out, too. A good winter wine, Viognier is more full-bodied than most white wines. And this bottle, relying mainly on grapes from Lodi, has all the hallmarks of Viognier (pronounced vee-oh-knee-eh).

Full-bodied and off-dry, it reveals vibrant flavours of apricot, peach, nectarine, white blossoms and honeydew, with a touch of almond and ginger.

Price: About $20. It has been available at Aspen Wine and Spirits, Co-op Wines Spirits Beer, Sobeys Liquor and Willow Park Wines & Spirits.

Contact Darren Oleksyn at dm.oleksyn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter: @doleksyn. Looking for a specific wine mentioned here? Because wine inventories are always in flux, it’s a good idea to call the store before you go.

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